Love, Fate And Magic
Chapter 18- So Close But Yet So Far
What was behind this picture?
Emma continued to run her fingers over the strange picture, feeling the paints texture. Everything about the picture screamed something at Emma, but she couldn't understand it.
Glancing behind her shoulder at Regina, who remained asleep, Emma began to slowly pull forward the picture, her mind racing as she noticed the hinges on the side of the frame. Giving it a firm pull, the blonde discovered a wall safe, hidden behind the mysterious picture. Emma let out a heavy sigh as she starred at the safe. Among all of the skills she has acquired over the years, safe cracking was not one of them.
Running the tips of her fingers over the dial, Emma tried to think of likely code, Regina might have put in place.
A loud crash from outside the window jolted Emma away from the safe, causing her to stumble backwards. Bewildered, the blonde spun around in search of the noise. Her eyes fixed on the slightly open window, where an odd scrapping sound was now coming from.
Quick as a flash, Emma was at the window, peering out to what was going on. Anger quickly began to surface when she spotted Henry hastily lifting up one of the metal bins, pushing it back into place with the help from none other than Lucas.
Emma shot from the window and out of the room, determined to catch the two in whatever it is they had been doing together all this time. Throwing her herself from the bedroom and down the stairs, the blonde skidded to a halt, and slowly eased open the front door, poking her head out to see if it was clear.
Once safe, Emma slipped from the house and made her way silently towards the back of the house. As she got closer, the blonde began to pick up on hushed voice, one high and childlike, while the other was much deeper.
Bursting from around the corner, Emma made a triumphant noise at her discovery, causing both rule breakers to jump in surprise.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" She yelled, storming towards them as they panicked.
"We're on a date!" Henry blurted out, his expression terrified while Lucas stared at him with confusion.
"Perhaps we should work on your skills when under pressure." Lucas suggested with an amused smirk while Henry huffed in embarrassment.
"You're so lucky your mum didn't catch you out here." Emma muttered, her eyes shifting from one guilty face to the other.
"Don't worry kid, I told you the night meeting wouldn't work forever." Emma threw her arms into the air in exasperation.
"You've done this before?!" The blonde snapped.
"I'm pretty tired so I'm going to bed." Henry quickly said, avoiding the question. Emma watched him dash off, knowing if Regina discovered either of them were missing she'll completely flip out.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Emma snapped looking back at Lucas, who shrugged.
"Can't I spend time with my nephew?" He said innocently
"At two thirty in the morning!"
"He said he had something he wanted to discuss urgently, so I came straight away." Emma crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself slightly. "What's wrong?"
"What?"
"You're doing that thing when you're freaking out about something." He said in a concerned voice, pointing to Emma's closed off posture.
"It's nothing." Emma said dismissively, making Lucas sigh.
"You also can't lie to me." He drawled, giving Emma the impression they'd had conversations like this before. He scrutinised her for a moment, his bright blue eyes boring into hers for a moment before he stepped a little closer, a small smile on your face.
"What!" Emma snapped, annoyed by his calming aura.
"What did you see?" He asked gently.
"What do you mean?" She asked, hesitant to be honest with this man.
"In your dreams, what did you see?" He asked again, ignoring Emma's shocked and slightly disgusted face. "It doesn't matter how I know, I just do. I understand how your condition works."
"Condition?!"
"Memory loss." He clarified, before gesturing for her to talk. "Tell me."
"The scar on my chest, how did I get it?" He frowned at her, clearly taken aback by the question.
"You were attacked." He said simply, but Emma huffed at him. "I forget the name of the man who did it, but I know why he did it."
"Why?"
"Well-" before Lucas could begin his story, a screech sounded from the open window above them, reminding Emma she has abandoned Regina up there. "Go deal with that, we'll talk later." Emma nodded at him before shooting off towards the house.
Xxxxxxxxx
Regina wasn't a heavy sleeper. It took very little to wake her from even the deepest of sleeps. And so when she felt sudden movement in the bed, the brunette was quick to awaken.
Blinking open her eyes, Regina spotted Emma slipping out of the bed, her head turning this way and the other, as if looking for something. The brunette burrowed a little further into the sheets to avoid Emma noticing she had woken up.
Watching carefully through slitted eyes, Regina observed Emma's movements around the room. It was clear the blonde was looking for something, but what? The brunette's heart began to beat faster as Emma suddenly became far too interested in the picture of dandelions, hanging on the opposite wall from her. Turning over in bed to continue watching, Regina felt her whole system going into over drive as she watched Emma slowly interact with the picture.
Emma was merely inches away from destroying everything Regina had worked to build over the years, and there was nothing the mayor could do to stop her. Terror flooded through her as visions of Emma discovering her heart and taking it back invaded her mind. If the blonde gets her memories back, then that would be it...
Watching in fear, Regina waited for the inevitable as Emma pulled the picture forward to reveal the safe.
A loud bang startled Emma away from the safe and sent her rushing to the window to discover the source. Regina waited holding her breath as Emma went running from the room. As soon as the blonde's light footfalls could no longer be heard, the mayor flung herself out of bed and towards the safe.
Running her hands over it, Regina quickly spun the dial around to the code, listening for the faint click to indicate that it was unlocked. Glancing over her shoulder, Regina pulled open the safe and retrieved the madly beating heart from within. Cradling it close to her chest, the brunette spun around in search of a good place to hide the precious organ. An internal light switch went off as Regina sprinted towards her bathroom, skidding to her knees upon the tiled floor, her hands rapidly searching for the loose tile she had been meaning to have fixed.
Locating the loose flooring, the brunette gingerly flicked up the tile, revealing the floorboards underneath. Grabbing the heavy door stop, Regina brought it down as hard as she could upon the old wood, a pleased smile spreading across her lips as a large enough hole was created in the wood.
Peering into the hole, Regina deemed it a safe temporary hiding spot for Emma's heart. Slowly picking up the heart, the brunette ensured the hole was safe before gently placing the still quickly beating organ inside, before replacing the tile on top of it.
Grabbing the broken wood, Regina quickly rose to her feet and sped from the room, tossing the wood in the direction of the bin. Re-entering the bedroom, the brunette panicked at the sound of quick footsteps from the hallway. Zipping over to the door, the brunette was shocked to spot Henry sneaky along the corridor back towards his room.
"Why are you up?!" She demanded, yanking open the door to reveal herself to the boy.
"Getting a drink." He clearly lied.
"I see no evidence of this." Regina hissed, advancing on the now slightly nervous boy.
"I didn't need to bring a glass back up with me." Henry defended angrily.
"What's going on? Why are you acting like this?" The brunette snapped, irritated by his tone.
"Why do you always think something going on? You're so paranoid!" He retorted, crossing his arms and glaring at her.
"You will not speak to me like that!" Regina yelled, her temper quickly slipping.
"What are going to do? Kill me? That's what Evil Queens do isn't it!" He yelled back, his face becoming slightly red. Regina began to shake with rage at his behaviour, furious at his insistence with the fairy tales.
"Enough Henry! I am not an Evil Queen!"
"YES YOU ARE!" he practically screamed back. "That's why you hated the film, because you're in it!"
"Go to your ROOM!" She screeched back at him.
"Hey what is going on?" Emma came rushing down the hall towards the warring mother and son, stepping between them.
"Tell her to stop being so paranoid!" Henry snapped, jabbing his finger at Regina.
"Henry that's enough." Emma tried to defuse the clearly livid boy.
"No! How can you love her?!" He questioned, turning his anger on Emma, who blinked in confusion.
"What?"
"She's evil! She took everything from you and you have no idea!" Regina watched as Emma opened and closed are mouth, clearly unsure of how to react. The brunette immediately reached out and took a hold of Emma's arm.
"Henry I-"
"She has your heart!" Panic shot through Regina, as she stared at Emma, who seemed slightly confused by her son's words. The brunette's eyes followed Emma's hand, which rose up to rest over her chest.
"That's enough." The mayor said firmly, snapping out of thoughts and moving towards Henry. "Henry go to bed, now."
"But-"
"Now." He glared at her momentarily, before storming off towards his room, leaving both women to stand in the hall. Regina turned her attention back to Emma, who had yet to remove her hand from her chest. The brunette observed the way Emma seemed to be feeling for something upon her skin, while her face remained furrowed and confused.
"Emma?" The blonde seemed to reawaken from her thoughts, and turned to look at Regina.
"We need to talk."
A/N: This is a shorty, but it is a mid-week update so better than nothing. Emma came so close to heart but will Regina be able to keep her away from it for much longer? Please review and tell me all your thoughts and feelings and hope you're enjoying the new year XD Till next time Kids.